TECHNOLOGY: Ableton Live 9

Ableton Live 9 has been out for a while now but the question is with so many different methods to make beats these days, how does it stand out?

As any producer knows, it is always difficult to find the program that you can connect with when first making beats. You could say that I’ve always kinda had what we now dub a “sampleface”, remixing the classical pieces of music while I messed about with chord progressions in music lessons (before my teacher up and told me he didn’t want to teach me music. You will probably hear about that all in some material I will be dropping in the near future) to the early stages of Ejay and beyond.

When I first started out it was the days before YouTube allowed us to search for tutorials on just about everything and being more influential to most human beings education than their learning establishments. So when I finally got given Fruity Loops 3.56 on a drunk night home before someone chased my on a motorbike with a large kitchen knife (true stories), I thought this was something I’d invest time and effort in to further my craft. I have over the years used Reason, Logic and of course Ableton to find where I feel most creatively free. Where I am now is on the Maschine because its something that bridges the gap between using an MPC and technology that resonates well with me… until now.

Ableton seem to have upped their levels with the features in Live 9; the interface and VST / sample collection boasting up to 55 GBs worth of content in the “Suite” version (from £329 up). There is also the addition of Ableton’s own “Push” MIDI controller that is set to make workflow a more streamline process. For us Samplefacers, there is an ability to turn Audio files into Midi parts making the manipulation of samples a lot more seamless and integrated into production as well as emphasis on simplifying the browser window and file organisation.

I’m yet to give it a spin as I am waiting to resolve an issue with my laptop before I give it a go. Until then, I shall leave you with a little video showing what Ableton can really do.

About Blaise

Blaise aka 13th Sequence is a lyricist, producer, co-founder of Sampleface, a CALM Ambassador, and Member of UDVC.